Cooling unit that discharges heat from heat source and electronic apparatus equipped with the cooling unit

ABSTRACT

A cooling unit can be downsized. Air is taken in through an intake port, and heat is discharged from a heat source through an exhaust port. A heat transport unit, forming a part of a cooling fan or is substantially in contact with it, has a first region which has one end facing the heat source and another end having a through hole which air taken in or air to be discharged passes through, and in which air passes through the through hole to perform heat exchange with the air in an inner wall of the through hole. The cooling fan has an intake opening and an exhaust opening. The through hole has an intake through hole and/or an exhaust through hole. Air passes through the intake port, the intake through hole, the intake opening, the exhaust opening, the exhaust through hole, and the exhaust port in this order.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a cooling unit and an electronicapparatus that makes use thereof, and in particular to a cooling unitequipped with a cooling fan.

Description of the Related Art

Electronic apparatuses such as digital cameras, smart phones, tablets,and game machines tend to consume more power due to increasedcapabilities or the like nowadays. On the other hand, there is a highdemand for downsizing those types of electronic apparatuses so as toimprove portability.

Heat generated in the electronic apparatuses increases due to increasedpower consumption, downsizing, and so forth, and accordingly, heat needsto be efficiently discharged. In order to efficiently discharge heat,for example, a cooling unit equipped with a cooling fan is used.

For example, in order to reduce the thickness of a cooling unit equippedwith a cooling fan and to improve cooling efficiency, a part of a fancase is made of a copper plate, and heat is transported to a heatradiating fin, which is a heat radiation main part, by a heat pipe andthe fan case (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No.2004-22786).

However, even in the case where the cooling unit described in JapaneseLaid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2004-22786 is used, the heatradiating fin for heat exchange needs to be provided separately from thefan case, and the cooling unit is upsized accordingly, making itdifficult to downsize an electronic apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a cooling unit that can be downsized, andan electronic apparatus equipped with the cooling unit.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a cooling unit that has anintake port and an exhaust port and drives at least one cooling fan totake in air through the intake port and discharge heat from a heatsource through the exhaust port, includes a heat transport unitconfigured to have at least one first region which has one end facingthe heat source, has another end at which a through hole which air takenin through the intake port or air discharged from the exhaust portpasses through is formed, and in which air is caused to pass through thethrough hole to perform heat exchange with the air in an inner wall ofthe through hole, wherein an intake opening and an exhaust opening,which extends in a different direction in which the intake openingextends, are formed in the cooling fan, the through hole includes atleast one of an intake through hole or an exhaust through hole, thecooling fan is driven to pass air through the intake port, the intakethrough hole, the intake opening, the exhaust opening, the exhaustthrough hole, and the exhaust port in this order, and the heat transportunit forms a part of the cooling fan or is provided in contact with thecooling fan.

According to the present invention, the cooling unit and the electronicapparatus can be downsized because heat is exchanged in a through-holeregion defined in a heat transport unit.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to theattached drawings).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A to 1C are views showing an example of an electronic apparatusfor which a cooling unit according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention is used.

FIGS. 2A to 2C are views explaining an arrangement of a camera shown inFIGS. 1A to 1C.

FIGS. 3A to 3C are views explaining an example of a cooling unitprovided in the camera shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C.

FIGS. 4A to 4E are views explaining an example of a camera with aconventional cooling structure.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are views explaining an arrangement of the cooling unitprovided in the camera shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C.

FIGS. 6A to 6E are views explaining a heat transport unit shown in FIGS.5A and 5B.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are views explaining an example of a relationshipbetween a position of a camera system control unit shown in FIGS. 5A and5B and through holes formed in the heat transport unit.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are views explaining a relationship between a rotationaldirection of a cooling fan shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B and through holesformed in the heat transport unit.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are views explaining a relationship between a rotationaldirection of the cooling fan shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B and a position ofa heat source.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are views explaining a structure around intake throughholes and exhaust through holes shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

FIGS. 11A to 11D are views explaining an example of an arrangement ofintake through holes and exhaust through holes shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are views explaining an example of a heat transportunit for use in a cooling unit according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

An example of a cooling unit according to embodiments of the presentinvention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1A to 1C are views showing an example of an electronic apparatusfor which a cooling unit according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention is used. FIG. 1A is a front view, FIG. 1B is a perspectiveview from behind, and FIG. 1C is a bottom view. It should be noted herethat an image pickup apparatus is taken as an example of the electronicapparatus.

The illustrated electronic apparatus is, for example, a digital camera(hereafter referred to merely as the camera) 1, and a lens barrel 2 isprovided on a front side of the camera 1. A shooting optical system 3including a plurality of optical lenses is disposed in the lens barrel2. The shooting optical system 3 has an optical axis 4.

A shutter release button 10 a is disposed on an upper side of a camerahousing (image pickup apparatus housing), and a cooling fan 12 isdisposed inside the camera housing. For the shooting optical system 3,an image pickup device is placed inside the camera case, and varioustypes of operating units 10 and a display unit 9 such as an LCD aredisposed on a rear side of the camera case.

As illustrated, an intake port 14 is formed on the rear side of thecamera housing, and an exhaust port 15 is formed on a bottom side of thecamera housing. Driving (rotating) the cooling fan 12 takes in airthrough the intake port 14 as indicated by a solid line arrow 16 andcauses air to be discharged through the exhaust port 15 via the heattransport unit 13 as indicated by a solid line arrow 17. It should benoted that a reference number 18 denotes a rotational axis of thecooling fan 12.

FIGS. 2A to 2C are views explaining an arrangement of the camera 1 shownin FIGS. 1A to 1C. FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing the camera 1 asseen from front with the lens barrel 2 extended, and FIG. 2B is acutaway view showing the camera 1 as seen from side with the lens barrel2 collapsed. FIG. 2C is a block diagram showing the arrangement of thecamera 1.

The illustrated camera 1 has a camera system control unit (control unit)5, which is responsible for controlling the entire camera 1. An opticalimage is formed on the image pickup device 6 through the shootingoptical system 3, and the image pickup device 6 outputs an image signalcorresponding to the optical image. Under the control of the camerasystem control unit 5, an image processing unit 7 performs predeterminedimage processing on the image signal to generate image data and thenrecords the image data in a memory unit 8.

In response to the image signal obtained from the image pickup device 6,the camera system control unit 5 causes a lens driving unit 11 to drivea focus lens, a blur correction lens, a diaphragm, and so forth providedin the shooting optical system 3 to perform focus adjustment or the likeand also control exposure. Namely, the camera system control unit 5performs AF control and AE control. It should be noted that exposurecontrol includes control of an exposure time, an f number, and anamplification factor.

The image processing unit 7 has an A/D converter, a white balancecircuit, a gamma correction circuit, an interpolation operation circuit,and so forth, and as described earlier, generates image data accordingto an image signal which is an output from the image pickup device 6.

The memory unit 8 has a recording unit that records image data andothers and a processing circuit required for recording. Here, the memoryunit 8 records image data in the recording unit and generates and savesa display image for output to the display unit 9.

It should be noted that the memory unit 8 carries out a compressionprocess in which it compresses image data using a method determined inadvance. The memory unit 8 also has a nonvolatile memory in whichprograms to be executed by the camera system control unit 5 are recordedand a volatile memory in which the programs are expanded. The volatilememory is used as a work area for the camera system control unit 5.

The camera system control unit 5 controls the camera 1 in response tooperation on the operating units 10. For example, upon detectingdepression of the shutter release button 10 a, the camera system controlunit 5 drives the image pickup device 6, controls the image processingunit 7, and also controls, for example, the compression process carriedout by the memory 8. The camera system control unit 5 also displays avariety of information on the display unit 9.

The camera system control unit 5 determines an appropriate focusposition and aperture position based on an image signal obtained fromthe image pickup device 6. Then, the camera system control unit 5 causesthe lens driving unit 11 to control the shooting optical system 3 basedon the focus position and also adjusts an aperture of the diaphragm baseon the aperture position.

It should be noted that in an aiming operation of the camera 1, thecamera system control unit 5 successively displays live previews ofimages, which are obtained by the image pickup device 6, on the displayunit 9.

As described earlier, the camera 1 is equipped with the cooling fan 12,and according to a state of the camera 1, the camera system control unit5 causes the cooling fan 12 to run (rotate). As a result, heat isdischarged by the so-called forced air cooling.

The heat transport unit 13 (FIGS. 1A, 1C) is disposed in opposedrelation to the image pickup device 6 and the camera system control unit5, which are heat sources, and an intake part or an exhaust part of thecooling fan 12. This efficiently transports and discharges heat which isgenerated in the image pickup device 6, the camera system control unit5, and their vicinities.

FIGS. 3A to 3C are views explaining an example of a cooling unitprovided in the camera 1 shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C. FIG. 3A is a viewshowing a cross section of a part indicated by an alternate long andshort dash line 30 in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged view showingthe intake port 14 provided on the rear side of the camera 1. FIG. 3C isan enlarged view showing the exhaust port 15 provided on the bottom sideof the camera 1.

An intake through hole 31 and an exhaust through hole 32 are formed inthe heat transport unit 13. An intake opening 12 a and an exhaustopening 12 b are formed in the cooling fan 12. The fan 12 is equippedwith a rotary blade 12 c.

To cool the camera 1 with the cooling fan 12, heat generated in thecamera system control unit 5 and the image pickup device 6, which arethe heat sources, is transported to the cooling fan 12 by the heattransport unit 13. The illustrated example shows a state in which thecamera system control unit 5 is thermally connected to the heattransport unit 13, but the image pickup device 6 may be thermallyconnected to the heat transport unit 13.

As shown in FIG. 3A, one end (first end) of the heat transport unit 13is thermally connected with facing a heat source such as the camerasystem control unit 5 (and the image pickup device 6). Another end(second end) of the heat transport unit 13 faces the intake opening 12 aand the exhaust opening 12 c.

When air is taken in through the intake port 14 by the cooling fan 12and passes through the intake through holes 31 formed in the heattransport unit 13, heat exchange is performed. Then, the air flows intothe cooling fan 12 through the intake opening 12 a and is dischargedthrough the exhaust opening 12 b. On this occasion, heat exchange isperformed again when the air passes through the exhaust through holes 32formed in the heat transport unit 13, and the air is discharged from thecamera 1 through the exhaust port 15.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the plurality of intake through holes 31 is formedin the heat transport unit 13, and likewise, as shown in FIG. 3C, theplurality of exhaust through holes 32 is formed in the heat transportunit 13. By providing the heat transport unit 13 with the plurality ofintake through holes 31 and exhaust through holes 32, heat exchange canefficiently be performed because side areas of the through holesthemselves are increased as will be described later.

In conventional electronic apparatuses such as a camera equipped with acooling fan, heat is transported from a heat source such as a controlunit to a heat exchange unit provided around an exhaust or intakeopening of the cooling fan. The heat exchange unit then exchanges theheat with air taken in by the cooling fan.

A description will now be given of an example in which the coolingstructure (cooling unit) described above is used for a camera.

FIGS. 4A to 4E are views explaining an example of a camera provided withthe conventional cooling structure. FIG. 4A is a front view of theconventional camera, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken alongan alternate long and short dash line 110 in FIG. 4A. FIG. 4C is anenlarged view of an intake port provided on a rear side of the camera,and FIG. 4D is an enlarged view of an exhaust port provided on a bottomside of the camera. FIG. 4E is a perspective view of the cooling fan 12and a heat exchange unit. It should be noted that in FIGS. 4A to 4E, thesame component elements as those of the camera shown in FIGS. 1A to 1Cand 3A to 3C are denoted by the same reference numbers.

The heat exchange unit 111 is disposed in opposed relation to theexhaust opening 12 b of the cooling fan 12. The heat exchange unit 111is molded to have large surface areas of a radiating fin and a part forheat exchange which is called a heat sink.

In the illustrated example, the heat exchange unit 111 is disposed infront of the exhaust opening 12 b of the cooling fan 12, and airdischarged by the cooling fan 12 is subjected to heat exchange by theheat exchange unit 111. Heat generated in the camera system control unit5 (and the image pickup device 6) is transported to the heat exchangeunit 111 by the heat transport unit 13. The heat exchange unit 111 thensubjects the heat to heat exchange with the air taken in by the coolingfan 12. Namely, in the example illustrated in FIGS. 4A to 4E, the heatexchange unit 111 is required for heat exchange in addition to the heattransport unit 13.

On the other hand, in the cooling unit shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C, sincethe through-holes for heat exchange are provided in the heat transportunit 13, the heat transport unit 13 doubles as a heat exchanger and thusdispenses with the heat exchange unit 111.

A detailed description will now be given of the cooling unit accordingto the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are views explaining an arrangement of the cooling unitprovided in the camera 1 shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C. FIG. 5A is aperspective view of the cooling unit, and FIG. 5B is a perspective viewof the cooling fan 12 provided in the cooling unit.

The illustrated cooling unit has the heat transport unit 13 and thecooling unit 12 which are substantially in contact with each other(preferably, they are in contact with each other), and the heattransport unit 13 has one end (first end) thereof facing the camerasystem control unit 5, which is the heat source, and another end (secondend) thereof facing the cooling fan 12. As described earlier, the intakethrough holes 31 and the exhaust through holes 32 are formed on the sidecorresponding to the cooling fan 12 (see FIG. 5A). As shown in FIG. 5B,for example, a centrifugal fan is used as the cooling fan 12, and inresponse to rotation of the rotary blade 12 c, air is taken in adirection of the rotational axis (that is, in a thickness direction ofthe heat transport unit 13) as indicated by a solid line arrow 16 anddischarged in the direction of the radius of the rotary blade 12 c (thatis, in the direction of the thickness of the heat transport unit 13) asindicated by a solid line arrow 17. It should be noted that the heattransport unit 13 may form a part of the cooling fan 12. Namely, theheat transport unit 13 may form an upper side of the cooling fan 12and/or one or more sides of the cooling fan 12.

FIGS. 6A to 6E are views explaining the heat transport unit 13 shown inFIGS. 5A and 5B. FIG. 6A is a front view of the heat transport unit 13,and FIG. 6B is a bottom view of the heat transport unit 13. FIG. 6C is across-sectional view taken along an alternate long and short dash line50 in FIG. 6A, and FIG. 6D is an enlarged view of an area indicated by acircle 57 in FIG. 6B. FIG. 6E is an enlarged view of an area indicatedby a circle 58 in FIG. 6C. It should be noted that a front side of theheat transport unit 13 in FIG. 6A means a side seen from behind thecamera 1.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C, heat generated inthe camera system control unit 5 (and the image pickup device 6) istransported by the heat transport unit 13. Then, in the intake throughholes 31 and the exhaust through holes 32 formed in the heat transportunit 13, the heat is subjected to heat exchange with air taken in ordischarged by the cooling fan 12.

The plurality of intake through holes 31 is formed in opposed relationto the intake opening 12 a formed in the cooling fan 12, and likewise,the plurality of exhaust through holes 32 is formed in opposed relationto the exhaust opening 12 b formed in the cooling fan 12.

Referring to FIG. 6E, diagonally shaded areas 51 represent intakethrough hole sides (inner walls) of the intake through holes 31 in whichheat exchange with the air taken in by the cooling fan 12 is performed.Likewise, diagonally shaded areas 52 represent exhaust through holesides (inner walls) of the exhaust through holes 32 in which heatexchange with the air is performed.

Referring to FIG. 6D, a description will now be given of a relationshipbetween aperture ratios of the intake through holes 31 and the exhaustthrough holes 32 and heat exchange efficiency and a relationship betweenside areas of the intake through holes 31 and the exhaust through holes32 and heat exchange efficiency.

The aperture ratio is an indicator that indicates the proportion ofthrough holes in a base material per unit area. For example, as shown inFIG. 6D, when the intake through holes 31 and the exhaust through holes32 are formed in a staggered arrangement of 60° hexagons (the so-calledhoneycomb pattern), the aperture ratio Ar is expressed by an equation(1) below.

$\begin{matrix}{{Ar} = {{\frac{\left( {P - d} \right)^{2}}{P^{2}} \times 100} = {\frac{W^{2}}{P^{2}} \times 100}}} & {{Equation}\mspace{14mu}(1)}\end{matrix}$

In the equation (1), P denotes a center-to-center distance (pitch)between the hexagonal through holes, which is indicated by referencenumber 53 in FIG. 6D. Also, d indicates a width (thickness) indicated bya reference number arrow 55 in FIG. 6D. Further, W indicates a width(opening width) of the thorough holes, which is indicated by a referencenumber 54. It should be noted that p is greater than d (P>d).

As described earlier, heat exchange is performed in the intake throughholes 31 and the exhaust through holes 32. The larger the intake throughholes 31 and the exhaust through holes 32, the easier it becomes for theair to pass and the lower the resistance (hereafter referred to as thedraft resistance) becomes when the air passes. Therefore, when heatexchange is performed while the air is passing through the intakethrough holes 31 and the exhaust through holes 32, the heat exchangeefficiency increases with aperture ratio. Namely, in the equation (1),the deeper the relationship P>>d, the higher the heat exchangeefficiency.

The heat exchange efficiency increases with areas of the side faces(inner walls) of the through holes in which heat exchange is performedincrease. In the heat transport unit 13, heat exchange with the airtaken in by the cooling fan 12 is performed in the intake through holes31 and the exhaust through holes 32. Namely, the larger the side areas(areas of side walls) of the intake through hole side faces 51 and theexhaust through hole side faces 52, the larger the area where heatexchange is performed. For this reason, assuming that the flow rate ofthe air passing through the through holes does not change, the heatexchange efficiency increases as the side areas become larger.

Here, the proportion of the side areas of the through holes in the basematerial of the heat transport unit 13 per unit area is referred to as aside area ratio. For example, when both the intake through holes 31 andthe exhaust through holes 32 are formed in a staggered arrangement of60° hexagons, the side area ratio Sr is expressed by an equation (2)below.

$\begin{matrix}{{Sr} = {{\frac{4{t\left( {P - d} \right)}}{P^{2}} \times 100} = {\frac{4{tW}}{P^{2}} \times 100}}} & {{Equation}\mspace{14mu}(2)}\end{matrix}$

In the equation (2), p, d, and W are the same as those in the aboveequation (1), and t indicates a thickness of the heat transport unit 13,which is indicated by reference number 56 in FIG. 6C.

To increase the side area ratio Sr, the thickness t should be increasedand/or the pitch P and the width d should be decreased. It should benoted that p and d are preferably minimum values depending on machiningconditions. Moreover, it is ideally preferable that p and d satisfy theequation, P=2d, at which Sr is the maximum.

The above described conditions relating to the aperture ratio and theside area ratio for increasing the heat exchange efficiency are mutuallycontradictory. Namely, in order to increase the aperture ratio, it ispreferable that the pitch P is increased while the width d is decreased.On the other hand, in order to increase the side area ratio, it ispreferable that the pitch P is decreased while the width d is made closeto P/2.

What conditions are the most suitable depends on the performance of thecooling fan 12, and to mold the heat transport unit 13 with a plate-likematerial (for example, a metal sheet), the side areas of the throughholes should be very small, and hence it is preferable that the pitch Pis reduced to such an extent that the draft resistance is notexcessively high.

A description will now be given of an example of a relationship betweenthe heat source and the widths of the intake through holes 31 and theexhaust through holes 32.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are views explaining an example of the relationshipbetween the position of the camera system control unit 5 shown in FIGS.5A and 5B and the through holes formed in the heat transport unit 13.FIG. 7A is a front view of the heat transport unit 13, and FIG. 7B is abottom view of the heat transport unit 13.

As described earlier, the heat transport unit 13 acts as both a heattransporter and a heat exchanger. In terms of heat transportation, theair with very low thermal conductivity is present in the area where theintake through holes 31 and the exhaust through holes 32 are formed, andthis is a factor responsible for interfering with heat transportation.

The heat exchange efficiency will increase if heat is satisfactorilytransported to the through holes far from the heat source, and heatexchange is performed in the sides (inner walls) of many through holes.It is thus preferable that in the heat transport unit 13, higherpriority is given to heat transportation in areas closer to the heatsource.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, the width 54 of the intake throughholes 31 (the width 54 of the intake through holes 31 on the upper sideof the sheet surface in the drawing) is made small. By making the width54 of the intake through holes 31 smaller, the width 55 of the basematerial of the heat transport unit 13 is increased, which enhances heattransportation performance.

As described above, the width 54 of the intake through holes 31 is madesmaller in areas closer to the camera system control unit 5 which is theheat source. As a result, a larger amount of heat can be transported tothe through holes far from the heat source, that is, to the exhaustthrough holes 32, and the heat exchange efficiency can be increased.

In the example described above, the heat transportation performance isenhanced by decreasing W (the width 54 in FIG. 6D) in the equation (1)to the aperture ratio small. On the other hand, the heat transportationperformance can be enhanced by increasing P (the pitch 53 in FIG. 6D) inthe equation (1) as well. If P is increased without changing W, d (thewidth 55 in FIG. 6D) will be increased to similarly enhance the heattransportation performance. Namely, in the heat transport unit 13, heattransportation performance can be enhanced by making the aperture ratioin the equation (1) smaller in areas closer to the heat source.

A description will now be given of a relationship between the coolingfan and the width of the through holes.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are views explaining the relationship between therotational direction of the cooling fan 12 shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B andthe through holes formed in the heat transport unit 13. FIG. 8A is afront view of the heat transport unit 13, and FIG. 8B is a bottom viewof the heat transport unit 13.

In general, the distribution of speeds (flow rates) of air flowing intothe cooling fan 12 through the intake opening 12 a and the exhaustopening 12 b varies with rotational directions of the cooling fan 12.Reference number 71 indicates the rotational direction of the coolingfan 12. Assume now that the cooling fan 12 is rotating in a rotationaldirection 71. In this case, when air is discharged downward on the sheetsurface in FIG. 8A, the flow rate of the air flowing into the coolingfan 12 on a left-hand side of the intake opening 12 a on the sheetsurface is higher in the distribution of flow rates around the intakeopening 12 a. On the other hand, on a right-hand side on the sheetsurface, the flow rate of the air flowing into the cooling fan 12 islow.

Referring to FIG. 7B, in the distribution of flow rates around theexhaust opening 12 b, the flow rate of the air flowing out of thecooling fan 12 is high on the right-hand side of the sheet surface, andthe flow rate of the air flowing out of the cooling fan 12 is low on theleft-hand side of the sheet surface.

Therefore, the heat transport performance is improved by reducing thewidth of the through holes located in the area where the flow rate islow, and heat is transported to the through holes located in the areawhere the flow rate is high. This improves the heat exchange efficiency.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, the closer to the area where the flowrate is high, the wider the widths of the intake through holes 31 andthe exhaust through holes 32, and the closer to the area where the flowrate is low, the narrower the widths of the intake through holes 31 andthe exhaust through holes 32. As a result, heat is transported to thethrough holes whose side area ratio is large and heat exchangeefficiency is high, and this enables efficient heat exchange.

It should be noted that when the rotational direction of the cooling fan12 is opposite to the rotational direction 71, the relationship of widthbetween the through holes is reversed as well. Namely, the widths of thethrough holes are larger on the right-hand side of the sheet surface,and the widths of the through holes are smaller on the left-hand side ofthe sheet surface.

As described above, since the side area ratio is increased by increasingW (the width 54 in FIG. 6D in the equation (2) for the through holeslocated in the areas where the flow rate is higher, the wide area ratiois made larger to improve the heat exchange efficiency.

On the other hand, the heat exchange efficiency may be improved bydecreasing P (the pitch 54 in FIG. 6D) in the equation (2). When P isdecreased without changing W for the through holes located in the areaswhere the flow rate is higher, d (the width 55 in FIG. 6D) is decreased,which makes the side area ratio larger and improves the heat exchangeefficiency. Namely, in the heat transport unit 13, the heat exchangeefficiency can be improved by increasing the side area ratio for thethrough holes located in the areas where the flow rate is higher.

A description will now be given of a relationship between the rotationaldirection of the cooling fan 12 and the position at which the heatsource is installed.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are views explaining the relationship between therotational direction of the cooling fan 12 shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B andthe position of the heat source. FIG. 9A is a view showing an example ofthe relationship between the rotational direction of the cooling fan 12and the position of the camera system control unit 5 which is the heatsource, and FIG. 9B is a view showing an example of the relationshipbetween the rotational direction of the cooling fan 12 and the positionof the camera system control unit 5 which is the heat source.

In FIG. 9A, the camera system control unit 5, which is the heat source,is disposed in an area where the flow rate is low (on the right-handside of the sheet surface) with respect to the rotational direction 71of the cooling fan 12. A part of the heat transport unit 13 which isopposed to the camera system control unit 5 extends toward an area wherethe flow rate is low as seen from the cooling fan 12.

On the other hand, in FIG. 9B, the camera system control unit 5, whichis the heat source, is placed in an area where the flow rate is high (onthe left-hand side of the sheet surface). A part of the heat transportunit 13 which is opposed to the camera system control unit 5 extendstoward an area where the flow rate is high as seen from the cooling fan12.

As described earlier with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B, in the heattransport unit 13, by reducing the width of the through holes locatedcloser to the heat source, the heat exchange efficiency is improvedbecause heat can be transported to an area far from the heat source. Onthe other hand, as described earlier with reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B,making the widths of the through holes wider in areas where the flowrate is low depending on the rotational direction of the cooling fan 12improves the heat exchange efficiency.

Therefore, the rotational direction of the cooling fan 12 is determinedaccording to the layout of the heat transport unit 13 determined by theheat source and the position of the cooling fan 12. For example, asshown in FIG. 9A, in the case where the part opposed to the heat sourceextends to the right-hand side of the sheet surface as seen from thecooling fan 12, the cooling fan 12 is rotated clockwise. On the otherhand, as shown in FIG. 9B, in the case where the part opposed to theheat source extends to the left-hand side of the sheet surface as seenfrom the cooling fan 12, the cooling fan 12 is rotated counterclockwise.

It should be noted that in the layout shown in FIG. 9B, it is preferablefrom the standpoint of heat transport performance that the through holesare made narrower on the left-hand side of the sheet surface bylaterally reversing the widths of the intake through holes 31.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are views explaining a structure of the intake throughholes 31 and the exhaust through holes 32 shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B andtheir vicinities. FIG. 10A is a front view of the heat transport unit13, and FIG. 10B is a bottom view of the heat transport unit 13.

In FIGS. 10A and 10B, a diagonally shaded areas 91 represents a secondregion (non through hole region) of the heat transport unit 13 in whichneither the intake through holes 31 nor the exhaust through holes 32 areformed. As described earlier, in a first region (through hole region) inwhich the intake through holes 31 or the exhaust through holes 32 areformed, the performance of the heat transport unit 13 (that is, the heattransport performance) deteriorates. For this reason, the non throughhole region is defined around or near the through hole region (the firstregion) to complement the heat transport performance.

As illustrated, a heat transfer path indicated by a broken line arrow 92is formed by defining the non through hole region represented by thediagonally shaded area 91. As a result, heat is efficiently transportedfrom the camera system control unit 5, which is the heat source, to theexhaust through holes 32 by the heat transport unit 13. This improvesthe heat exchange efficiency.

FIGS. 11A to 11D are views explaining an example of an arrangement ofthe intake through holes 31 and exhaust through holes 32 shown in FIGS.7A and 7B. FIG. 11A is a front view of the heat transport unit 13, andFIG. 11B is a bottom view of the heat transport unit 13. FIG. 11C is across-sectional view taken along an alternate long and short dash line50 in FIG. 11A, and FIG. 11D is an enlarged view of an area indicated bya circle 103 in FIG. 11C.

The illustrated heat transport unit 13 is molded by stamping, and abending portion 101 is formed at each of one opening ends of the intakethrough holes 31 and exhaust through holes 32. An R portion (curvedportion) 102 is formed at each of the other opening ends of the intakethrough holes 31 and exhaust through holes 32. For example, the bendingportions 101 are burrs left after stamping, and the R portions 102 aresheer droops left after stamping.

As described earlier with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6E, heat exchange isperformed while the air passes through the intake through holes 31 andexhaust through holes 32 formed in the heat transport unit 13. For thisreason, the larger the side areas of the intake through holes 31 andexhaust through holes 32, the higher the heat exchange efficiency.Therefore, forming the bending portions 101 at the ends of the intakethrough holes 31 and exhaust through holes 32 increases their height,resulting in their side areas being increased.

Likewise, it can be considered that the thickness 56 (thickness t) inFIG. 6C should increase so as to increase the side areas of the intakethrough holes 31 and exhaust through holes 32, but this will increasethe thickness of the heat transport unit 13. As a result, the camera 1will be upsized in the direction of the thickness (the direction of theoptical axis).

On the other hand, in the example shown in FIGS. 11A to 11D, the sideareas of the through holes are increased without changing the thicknessof the heat transport unit 13 as long as a way of machining is devisedto leave the burrs after stamping. In particular, since the intakethrough holes 31 and exhaust through holes 32 face the intake port 14,the exhaust port 15, the intake opening 12 a, and the exhaust opening 12b, the bending portions 101 can be disposed to get into these openingsand the like. As a result, the side areas of the intake through holes 31and exhaust through holes 32 can be increased without increasing thethickness of the heat transport unit 13.

Furthermore, during heat exchange, as the draft resistance in the intakethrough holes 31 and exhaust through holes 32 decreases, the heatexchange efficiency increases because the air flows more easily.Accordingly, the R portions 102 are formed such that their diameterswiden at the ends of the intake through holes 31 and exhaust throughholes 32. This lowers the draft resistance in the intake through holes31 and exhaust through holes 32 when the air is taken in by the foolingfan 12.

It should be noted that, as shown in FIG. 11D, bending the bendingportions 101 and the R portions 102 in the direction in which the air iscaused to flow by the cooling fan 12 is preferable because the draftresistance can be lowered.

As described above, in the first embodiment of the present invention,through holes are formed in the heat transport unit 13, and heatexchange is performed in the side faces (inner walls) of the throughholes. This eliminates the need to have a heat exchanger for heatexchange and thus downsizes the cooling unit.

It should be noted that although in the example described above, theheat transport unit 13 is opposed to both the intake opening 12 a andthe exhaust opening 12 b to perform heat exchange in both the intakethrough holes 31 and exhaust through holes 32, the heat transport unit13 may be opposed to one of the intake opening 12 a and the exhaustopening 12 b to perform heat exchange.

A description will now be given of an example of a camera for which acooling unit according to a second embodiment of the present inventionis used.

In the first embodiment described above, the cooling unit is equippedwith one cooling fan, but the cooling unit may be equipped with aplurality of cooling fans. In the second embodiment described below, thecooling unit is equipped with two cooling fans.

It should be noted that only features of the cooling unit according tothe second embodiment differing from those of the cooling unit accordingto the first embodiment will be described with description of the samefeatures omitted.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are views explaining an example of a heat transportunit for use in the cooling unit according to the second embodiment ofthe present invention. FIG. 12A is a front view of the heat transportunit, and FIG. 12B is a bottom view of the heat transport unit.

As illustrated, the cooling unit has two cooling fans 1212 a and 1212 b,and the heat transport unit 1213 is placed in opposed relation to thecooling fans 1212 a and 1212 b. The heat transport unit 1213 is alsoopposed to the camera system control unit 5 which is the heat source.

In the heat transport unit 1213, a first through hole region and asecond through hole region are defined in opposed relation to the firstcooling fan 1212 a and the second cooling fan 1212 b, respectively. Inthe first through hole region, first intake through holes 1231 a andfirst exhaust through holes 1232 a are formed, and in the second throughhole region, second intake through holes 1231 b and second exhaustthrough holes 1232 b are formed.

It should be noted here that the cooling fan located closer to thecamera system control unit 5, which is the heat source, is referred toas the first cooling fan 1212 a, and the cooling fan located fartheraway from the camera system control unit 5 is referred to as the secondcooling fan 1212 b.

In the illustrated example, the first cooling fan 1212 a and the secondcooling fan 1212 b are controlled to rotate at respective predeterminedrotation rates. The rotation rate of the first cooling fan 1212 a ishigher than that of the second cooling fan 1212 b. Furthermore, thefirst intake through holes 1231 a and the first exhaust through holes1232 a are smaller than the second intake through holes 1231 b and thesecond exhaust through holes 1232 b.

Wind can be let through the first cooling fan 1212 a rotating at arelatively high rotation rate even when the draft resistance is high(that is, the flow rate is high). On the other hand, it is difficult tolet wind through the second cooling fan 1212 a rotating at a relativelylow rotation rate when the draft resistance is high (that is, the flowrate is low).

Thus, in the illustrated example, the first intake through holes 1231 aand the first exhaust through holes 1232 a placed in opposed relation tothe first cooling fan 1212 a are configured to have small diameters sothat the draft resistance can be high. On the other hand, the secondintake through holes 1231 b and the second exhaust through holes 1232 bplaced in opposed relation to the second cooling fan 1212 b areconfigured to have large diameters so that the draft resistance can below.

As described above, in the heat transport unit 1213, the through holeslocated close to the camera system control unit 5 are configured to havesmall diameters, and the through holes located away from the camerasystem control unit 5 are configured to have large diameters. As aresult, heat is efficiently transported to the through holes locatedaway from the camera system control unit 5, and this preventsdeterioration of heat transport performance in the heat transport unit1213. In other words, if the through holes located close to the camerasystem control unit 5 are configured to have large diameters, and thethrough holes located away from the camera system control unit 5 areconfigured to have small diameters, losses that do not contribute totransportation of heat would be located close to the heat source, andthis leads to deterioration of heat transport performance.

As described above, the rotation rates of the first cooling fan 1212 aand the second cooling fan 1212 b and the diameters of the through holesformed in the heat transport unit 1213 are set. As a result, when thecamera is operating, it is possible to select between a mode in whichpriority is given to reducing noise of the cooling fans and a mode inwhich priority is given to cooling. The selection of the modes isexecuted by the camera system control unit 5 in response to a selectingoperation on the operating unit 10.

To reduce noise caused by rotation of a cooling fan during, for example,video shooting (visual and audio recording), a mode in which the secondcooling fan 1212 b is driven is used. On the other hand, to givepriority to cooling when noise caused by rotation of a cooling fan isnot annoying, for example, during standby, a mode in which the firstcooling fan 1212 a is driven is used. Further, when rapid cooling isneeded after video shooting or the like, a mode in which the firstcooling fan 1212 a and the second cooling fan 1212 b are driven is used.

Thus, since the camera system control unit 5 selectively controlsoperation of the first cooling fan 1212 a and the second cooling fan1212 b which rotate at different rotation rates, the camera can becooled suitably for its operating state without controlling the rotationrates of the cooling fans.

As described above, in the second embodiment of the present invention,there is the plurality of cooling fans, and in the heat transport unit,the intake through holes and the exhaust through holes are formed inopposed relation to the cooling fans. The cooling fans are configured torotate at different rotation rates, and diameters of the intake throughholes and the exhaust through holes are varied with positions of thecooling fans. This downsizes the cooling unit and eliminates thenecessity for controlling the rotation rates of the cooling fans.

Other Embodiments

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2018-103583, filed May 30, 2018, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image pickup apparatus comprising: an imagepickup device configured to receive an optical image using an opticalsystem; a cooling fan configured to rotate about a rotational axisextending parallel to an optical axis of the optical system, andincluding: an intake opening extending in one direction; and an exhaustopening extending in another direction different from the one direction;an intake port disposed facing the intake opening to draw in air; anexhaust port disposed facing the exhaust opening to exhaust the air; anda heat transport unit made of a heat conducting material and configuredto flow the air in a thickness direction thereof, and including: one endfacing the image pickup device; and another end including a first regionthat includes: at least one intake through hole configured to allowpassage of the air drawn in through the intake port; and at least oneexhaust through hole configured to allow passage of the air dischargedthrough the exhaust port, wherein the at least one intake through holeis disposed facing the intake opening and the at least one exhaustthrough hole is disposed facing the exhaust opening, so that the coolingfan passes the air through the intake port, the at least one intakethrough hole, the intake opening, the exhaust opening, the at least oneexhaust through hole, and the exhaust port, in this order, and whereinan area ratio, which represents a proportion of a side wall area of theat least one intake through hole and the at least one exhaust throughhole in the heat transport unit per unit area, is set to increase withan increase in a flow rate of the air flowing through the at least oneintake through hole and the at least one exhaust through holes.
 2. Theimage pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the firstregion, an aperture ratio of the at least one intake through hole, whichincludes a plurality of intake through holes, is decreased as therespective intake through hole is disposed closer to the heat source. 3.The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a rotationaldirection of the cooling fan is determined according to a position ofthe image pickup device and a position of the cooling fan.
 4. The imagepickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a second region in whichno through hole is formed is defined around the first region.
 5. Theimage pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an opening end ofthe at least one intake through hole includes a curved surface curved ina direction in which the air flows.
 6. The image pickup apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein an opening end of the at least one exhaustthrough hole includes a bending portion bent in a direction in which theair flows.
 7. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, theanother end includes a plurality of ones of the first region and aplurality of ones of the cooling fan, each provided for one of theplurality of ones of the first region.
 8. The image pickup apparatusaccording to claim 7, wherein: a first cooling fan, among the pluralityof ones of the cooling fan, is driven at a predetermined rotation ratefor one first region, among the plurality of ones of the first region,and a second cooling fan, among the plurality of ones of the coolingfans, is driven at a lower rotation rate than a second cooling fan foranother first region, among the plurality ones of the first region, anda first aperture ratio of the at least one intake through hole in theone first region for the first cooling fan is smaller than a secondaperture ratio of the at least one intake through hole in the anotherfirst region for the second cooling fan.
 9. The image pickup apparatusaccording to claim 8, wherein the first region for the first cooling fanis disposed at a location closer to the heat source than the firstregion for the second cooling fan.
 10. An electronic apparatuscomprising: an optical system; an image pickup device configured toreceive an optical image using the optical system; a first cooling fanconfigured to rotate about a rotational axis extending parallel to anoptical axis of the optical system, and including: an intake openingextending in one direction; and an exhaust opening extending in anotherdirection different from the one direction; an intake port disposedfacing the intake opening to draw in air; an exhaust port disposedfacing the exhaust opening to exhaust the air; and a heat transport unitmade of a heat conducting material and configured to flow the air in athickness direction thereof, and including: one end facing the imagepickup device; and another end including a first region that includes:at least one intake through hole configured to allow passage of the airdrawn in through the intake port; and at least one exhaust through holeconfigured to allow passage of the air discharged through the exhaustport, wherein the at least one intake through hole is disposed facingthe intake opening and the at least one exhaust through hole is disposedfacing the exhaust opening, so that the first cooling fan passes the airthrough the intake port, the at least one intake through hole, theintake opening, the exhaust opening, the at least one exhaust throughhole, and the exhaust port, in this order, and wherein an area ratio,which represents a proportion of a side wall area of the at least oneintake through hole and the at least one exhaust through hole in theheat transport unit per unit area, is set to increase with an increasein a flow rate of the air flowing through the at least one intakethrough hole and the at least one exhaust through hole.
 11. Theelectronic apparatus according to claim 10, further including: a secondcooling fan including the intake port and the exhaust port correspondingto the first cooling fan; and a control unit configured to selectivelycontrol operation of the first and second cooling fans according to anoperating state of the electronic apparatus, wherein the another end ofthe heat transport unit further includes a second region, including theone end and the another end corresponding to the first region.
 12. Theelectronic apparatus according to claim 11, wherein: the control unitcontrols the first fan to drive at a predetermined rotation rate and thesecond fan to drive at a lower rotation rate than the first cooling fan,and a first aperture ratio of the at least one intake through hole inthe first region for the first cooling fan is smaller than an apertureratio of the at least one intake through hole in the second region forthe second cooling fan.